Dive Brief:
- Crowdtap polled 59 U.S. influencers – such as bloggers and YouTube and Instagram stars – with an average social footprint of almost a quarter million followers.
- The survey found creative freedom was the main factor that determined whether influencers would work with a brand more than once.
- Creative freedom was cited by 77% of respondents followed by competitive compensation at 68%.
Dive Insight:
Even though tapping influencers for marketing campaigns is a tactic without rules or best practices, it can be an effective way reach audiences and gain attention according to digital agency Laundry Service.
Other research from this summer that asked marketing and communications professionals what they thought influencers’ goals were found that a majority at 55% stated increasing their reach topped their list, followed by creating quality content for their audience at 45%. The two studies show some disconnect between influencers and the marketers hiring them as a large majority of influencers are more interesting in creative freedom rather than building their audience.
At the same, influencers can be valuable resources for marketers, and these campaigns have proven to provide a solid return on investment. Research from RhythmOne found influencer campaigns in the first half of 2015 earned $9.60 for every dollar spent.
Jason Stein, founder of digital agency Laundry Service, told AdAge, "Advertisers pay for people, they pay for audiences, they pay for eyeballs, they pay for attention, they pay for trust, they pay for influence. And the only way to continue to engage that audience and retain that audience is to create great content."
Per Crowdtap's survey, the third most-cited reason for an influencer to work with a brand more than once was, at 54%: "respects me as they would any other publisher."
